Frankie & Benny's - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Frankie & Benny's is a chain of Italian-American

Italian-American cuisine

Italian American cuisine is the cuisine of Italian American immigrants and their descendents, who have modified Italian cuisine under the influence of American culture and immigration patterns of Italians to the United States...

restaurants in the UK with numerous outlets nationwide run by The Restaurant Group plc

Restaurant Group

The Restaurant Group plc is a leading British chain of restaurants and public houses. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

. Its first location was Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

in 1995 but now the chain has over 150 locations across the UK and also abroad, and smaller branches called "Little Frankie's".

Story

In branches, on menus, and on their official website, the fictional story about the restaurant's origins is presented. The story is that in 1924, at the age of 10, Frankie left Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

with his parents and moved to “Little Italy

Little Italy

Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...

” in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Within a year of moving, the family had opened a restaurant, which is now co-managed by Frankie's long-time friend Benny. The business was taken over by Frankie and Benny in 1953, and combines popular American food

Cuisine of the United States

American cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from the United States of America. European colonization of the Americas yielded the introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles to the latter...

with traditional Italian dishes

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

Theming

Frankie & Benny's restaurants are themed to reflect the 1950s Italian-American backstory.

They are decorated in dark wood, with warm mood lighting and granite effect table tops. There are numerous artifacts in each restaurant which are in-keeping with the theme, such as old photos of Italian heritage Americans, publicity shots of musicians and sportsmen, and advertising posters from the period on both the walls and the menus. The toilets often have Italian lessons playing over the speakers, and the restaurant itself plays classic American 1950s pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

, albums of which are available to purchase in-house.

Staff wear simple black waistcoats, a tie, white shirt, black trousers, and a simple white apron.

Story

Theming

Menu